
ALANSON HARTPENCE 




Book Jbfii :&L 
CopyrightN _L3 Of 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
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The 

POISONED LAKE 

AND OTHER POEMS 



By 



ALANSON HARTPENCE 




BROADWAY PUBLISHING CO . 

835 BROADWAY, NEW YORK 



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LIBRARY of COf 
! wo Copies Kecetwfl 

MAR ia08 



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** COWY a. 



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Copyright. 1908, 

BY 

ALANSON HARTPENCE 



All Rights Reserved 



CONTENTS 



Page 

The Poisoned Lake 3 

Part 1 4 

Part II 9 

Part III 16 

Short Poems: 

Vine Leaves 23 

Aqua Benedicta 25 

A Shower 28 

A Night Picture 30 

Fame 31 

The Traveler Tells 32 

Domesticity 33 

Spring — A Fragment 36 

A Song 37 

To a Pair of Shoes 38 

Mystery 39 

I Celebrate Myself 43 

Nothing and Something 47 

Sleep 48 

At Anchor 49 

Parting in Port SO 

To an Every-day Woman 52 

Lament 53 

By a Mountain Brook 54 

September 55 



11 CONTENTS. 

Page 

October 56 

By the River 57 

On an Ocean Liner 58 

Innominatum 63 

I Wonder Will You Love Me 64 

To a Parasitic Woman 65 

The Raven and the Skull 67 

A Mood 69 

Songs of the Infinite 73 



®fj? -Poison^ Sake 



OIIj? ffotaott^ Sake 



PRELUDE. 



/jtOULD you follow birds of passage 
*&r As they drift o'er evening skies, 
Then perchance you might discover 
Where my sweet Arcadia lies. 

Gentle country, rolling country ; 

Hills and dells where brooks reside :- 
Lowing cattle, failing hours ; 

Homes where loving hearts abide. 

So I sing you of Arcadia 

As it was my paradise, 
And midst its waving green hills — 

Grief to tell it — 
There the lake of poison lies. 



The Poisoned Lake 



PART I. 



rrtJtlDST the whitened field of daisies, 
3W With little care to what might guide ; 
Neath the summer's golden sunshine, 
Free of care I wandered wide. 

Wandered wide, wandered wide, 

Free of care I wandered wide 
Till I met a little shepherd : — 

Flute and sheepskin, curls beside! 



"Whither wanders my pretty pathway, 
Ah, my dear youth, pray confide ; — 

Winds it long yon wooded hillside 

To where by chance some fairies 'bide? 

Ah ! nay ; nay, sir : 

Dreadful things to it will guide; 
Midst that dark and gloomy forest 

Runs the wild wolf there to hide!" 



and Other Poems 

"All we shepherds hold it fearful, 
For 'tis not as you surmise : — 

Oft have heard I fathers caution, 
'Go not hence in any guise.' " 

Loving father, fearing father, 
Trusting naught to youthful eyes ; 

Thinks he then his child might falter, 
And in wildwood lost, of hunger dies. 

Then for caution to his children, 
Tells he them such loving lies ; 

But the words this lad has spoken 
Were not meant for manly size. 

So on turning to the shepherd 
Said I to him : Lad, good-bye ; 

But my words were hardly spoken 
Before I heard his warning cry. 

"Oh, I pray you stay from the hillside, 
Caring not what fate may guide ; 

For my tame owls often told me, 
Lies a lake the other side : 



6 The Poisoned Lake 

Oh, so dreadful! Oh, so fearful! 

Where he who drinks shall rot and die, 
And lay unmourned of long the lake side 

Save for the pines' remembrant sigh." 

But to heed him naught could keep me, 
So I bade him fond good day ; 

Told him naught could harm me, 
And smiling went the hill-side way. 

Upwards through the mighty forest 
Faintly traced my path away, 

And as I follow now more thoughtful 
Hear I then a mournful lay. 

Little shepherd ; arms akimbo, 

With nodded head to flute he plays : 

Six small fingers slowly wander 
And plaintive melody obeys. 

Rising high it shortly finds me, 

And midst the ferns and foliage fades ; 
Seeming mourns my rash departure, 

And still all responsibility evades. 



and Other Poems 

Higher, higher; onwards, onwards, 
Mount I towards the azured sky; 

While the air so sad and mournful 
Grows more distant from on high. 

Distant, distant, still more distant, 
Borne on breezes stealing by; — 

Intermittent times of silence — 
There — I knew it could but die. 

Now how lovely grows the forest 
As it lights and breaks away ; — 

There on summit bald and lonely, 
Weary now, my steps will stay. 

Rest I then on warm earth's surface, 
And dreaming wait the waning day ; 

Where the silence loves to linger, 
And still small breezes play. 

So with weary steps I plodded 
To gain the height I would abide, 

And soon o'er crest of nearing summit 
Breaks in view the country side. 



8 The Poisoned Lake 

Neath me here the valley wanders ; 

Midst the green hills doomed to fade 
In the blue of yon horizon, 

And the earth's translucent shade. 

While here on summit lonely 

Save for solitary pine, 
That shades me in long shadows 

And scents the air with wine ; 

I lay me on my brown pine carpet, 

And with face turned towards the sky 

All my senses lulled in music, 

Watch the great clouds drifting by. 

Drooping eyelids, scents of flowers ; — « 
Now for rest my spirit goes : 

Shadow hunts in far-off dreamland, 
While the sweet air softly blows. 



and Other Poems 






PART II. 



HAT was that that bade me follow 
Down the valley there below ?-— 



There they come now, coaxing ever. 
Think they then to make me go? 

Lovely maids, so gently treading, 
Call me now with laughter gay : — 

See their forms so softly blending 
With this gloom so weird and gray ! 

Still more near they now approach me, 
And in sensuous rhythm dance around, 

Cry aloud, throw me kisses, 

Then stand still with ne'er a sound ; 

While from out their midst there standeth 
One more lovely than the rest, 

And with faltering form before me, 
Smiles, sways and then addressed : 



ip The: Poisoned Lake 

"Come with me to the lake below, 
Where silver waters lap and flow, 

And drink me there the waters fair 
That fire the blood and deaden care, 

Till naught but more will satisfy, 
So great is thirst's demanding cry, 

Wrought in fiery blood's desire 
That would in cool bliss expire ! 

Come ! come to the lake with me 
And learn love's utmost ecstasy ! 

Gaze on me now from head to toe : 
Am I not perfect as women go ?" 

Then with wild delight the maidens fair 
Form a hand-clasped circle there, 

And round me in mad whirling reel 
Till naught of senses can I feel, 

As onwards staggered I : 

Now held on soft arms reeling by, 
Then swept with maddened tide 

Down the gloomy mountain side, 



and Other Poems ii 

Where only streaks of light break through, — 

A hellish yellow in their hue — 
And trees stand gaunt and leafless there, 

As though by forest fire stripped bare ; 

While from all about there seems to rise 
One great note of silence terrorized, 

As if some strange half -stated fear 
Was about to reach completion here. 

Down, down we quickly passed 

Before the circle broke at last, 
As rose there to the sky 

One long and fearful cry. 

How quickly stopped the maidens then 

For all to gaze in terror, when 
One stood pointing upwards, where 

A great snake swung his body there : 

With tail on black limb twisted round, 
And long, sleek body dangling down, — 

Just where a shaft of light broke through 
That made his scales to glisten blue ; 



12 The Poisoned Lake 



Now back and forth, and high and low 
We see his head on lithe neck go, 

While impatient tongue well justifies 
The blood-red glare of beady eyes, — 



Which holds us in hypnotic spell — 
Till at our feet the serpent fell 

And hissing lay, with mouth agape, 
That fearing now we soon escape 

By in the wild wood taking flight, — - 
Where soon in shadow lost to sight, 

We follow down the mountain side 
With naught but fear to act as guide ! 

Helter skelter down we fled, — 

Here and there in wild wood sped — 

At last to stay in thicket where 
We see the lake in distance there. 

Then gathered round the maidens all, — - 
As loud there rang a bugle's call — 

And pointing where a clearing lay 
Bade me follow there away. 



and Other Poems 13 

Soon they led me to the clearing, — 
Where the light broke through — 

And before me, on a throne of marble, 
Sat the King of Pleasure, who 

Watched our entrance with mild interest 

And beckoned then a slave : 
Told him tell us come before him 

And dismissed him with a wave. 

As we stand there now before him 
Stepped there forth a lovely maid, 

And bowing then in deepest reverence, 
With silver voice essayed : 

"We have brought you from the mountain — 

Captive — here to-day, 
Who would drink of pleasure's passion, 

And steeped in senses e'er be gay. 

Grant him drink of favored waters, 

So of pleasure he may learn, 
And before from here departing 

Can prude morality discern !" 



14 The Poisoned Lake 

Straightway then the King of Pleasure 
Clapped his hands, and called by name 

Maiden who with golden goblet 
Held o'er head in answer came. 

And there, before me standing, 
Bade me take and contents drain 

Ere its waters lose their magic 
And time its powers wane. 

Then to my lips I pressed the goblet 
And quaffed its contents all : — 

No sooner done than if by magic 
My fleeting senses pall. 

And now I stand in drunken stupor, 
While the maidens dance with joy, — 

Laughing at my strange condition — 
And with merry jest would me annoy; 

Till spoke the king in voice of stridence, 

Telling them begone away, 
And hunt the wild boar in the forest 

Where, found at last at parting day, 



and Other Poems 15 

They can in silence steal upon him, 
And while he lies in rude rest — slay — 

Then wreathe for me a wreath of bristles 
To crown me in appropriate way. 

Away, away they soon have vanished, 

And leave me standing lone 
Before the King, who then surveyed me, 

With dark visage, from his throne. 

Shortly then, with sense returning, 
I hear his stern voice bid me take 

The way that winds through yonder foliage 
And leads me onward to the lake. 



1 6 The Poisoned Lake 



PART III. 

JjjJOW strange and dark these waters look ! 
Wj How weird the skies are over-head ! 
Grim hour of dusk hangs over all 

While hoots the wild owl for the dead. 

With slow and silent wings sails by 
A hawk with murder in his breast; 

Impatient bats dart here and there, 

'As though by blind and mad fear pressed. 

Dark forms of life are gathered here 
And edge the lake shore round ; 

Lone cries of fear ring loud and clear 
To mock the drear owl's hooting sound. 

Spirit of fate, that here innate 

Echoes my spirit now, 
Rends my breast from hope of the best, 

And kills every former vow. 



and Other Poems 17 

With fierce wild beats my heart mad leaps, 

So great has grown my want ; 
My throat burns fire with mad desire 

Through drink from goblet left to haunt. 

Drink, drink — my being cries — 
Drink to quell this maddening fire! 

Drink, and let thy soul so dire 
In a senseless heaven expire! 

And so I sought the lake-side now, 
And there on hands and knees, — 

Groping my way where the waters stay — 
Sought my thirst's wild feeling to appease. 

It seemed as though on slimy shore 

The waters eddied in, 
Like long black fingers from a hand 

Darkened with the curse of sin. 

And every time I bent to drink 

The eddy flowed away 
And stayed just where, if followed there, 

To drink with ease one may. 



1 8 The Poisoned Lake 

I followed on with frenzied might 

And each time bent to gain, 
But ere my lips had reached their prize, 

The magic waters wane. 

Exhaustion now lays hold on me 

To stay my dreary way, 
And on a tuft of rushes near, 

My weary head I lay ; 

While sombrous shadows darken all, 
And soon my struggles cease, 

For I felt the silent wings of death 
Would bring my spirit peace. 

When lo! there rose a soulful moan, 
And through the dusk I see 

A chalk-white face that hovers apace : 
A face once known to me. 

How different now, from once so fair, 
Are the eyes that peer in mine! 

Where, Oh where, is the lustre fair, 
And the lashes long and fine ? 



and Other Poems 19 

Cease, Oh cease, thy mute appeal 

And tell me can it be, 
Thou too hast drunk of the poisoned lake 

And killed thy soul like me ? 

One look of proof was cast my way, 

Then vanished face and form ; 
While over my soul a terror rolled 

Like the violence of a storm. 

And all of a sudden there came to me, 

The horror of it all : 
The horror of passions and instincts strong 

And with what ease we fall. 

Then I cried release from the mighty flesh, 
And cried for a soul more strong : 

A cry that sounds from the hearts of men 
As long as the world goes 'long. 

And the answer came in a manner then, 

For the heavens broke in day : 
Flooding the night with a golden light, 

And banished my dream away. 



20 The Poisoned Lake 

The lake at my feet dissolved in mist, 
Then changed to summit where 

Over my head, on a branch of the pine, 
A bird called its mate from there : 

Just a few notes from the warbler's throat, 

As the sun stole in my eyes — 
A great gold ball on the horizon wall 

At the end of the day it lies. 



j^ijiirt PofotH 



£>tjort floema 



VINE LEAVES. 

/jtOULD I wreathe a wreath, 
W* My love to wear, 
For choice of vine leaf 
I would despair. 

One could find ne'er one so fair 
As to grace that head of golden hair. 
And grant it found, would not it jar 
In the pure white light of her soul's star? 

But I think perchance 
Were I forced to choose 
The ivy geranium 
Would I use. 

The one with leaves like wax, — 
Classic formed that pink flowers tax: 
Which loves to grow in tropic clime 
O'er the high front wall in spring time. 
23 



24 The Poisoned Lake 

Yes, the leaves would do: 
And the pink flowers too 
Would kiss her hair 
At random here and there. 



and Other Poems 25 



AQUA BENEDICTA. 

/|j\ NE morning, in spring, some time ago- 
V!t/ A chance had led me there — 
I found a little red-brick church 
Not far from the village square. 



There were trees about and ivy grew, 

To soften the red-brick walls ; 
While from some leafy recess near, 

A discreet oriole calls. 

No alien sound was there to break 
The peace that charmed the place, 

Save the crunch of my steps on the graveled 
path 
That marked my loitering pace. 

I found the church doors opened wide, 

And gazed at the shrine within ; 
Where an aged priest in surpliced gown 

Chanted an aged hymn. 



26 The Poisoned Lake 

It seemed so quiet and restful there, 
And a change from nature's green 

That I crossed the hallowed brown-stone arch 
And stole to a pew unseen. 

And I sat and dreamt the time away 
'Twixt a pious stained glass saint, 

And a half-opened window in gothic style; 
Where a wandering bee droned faint. 

Till in there whirled with never a thought 

Three sparrows in noisy race, 
And perched on the edge of the sacred font; 

Which they used for a bathing place. 

They fluttered and ducked in the holy bowl, 

And chirped in wildest rant ; 
Little heeding or caring in any way, 

The good priest's pious chant. 

There was naught to stay their boist'rous glee, 
Till the priest had finished his prayer ; 

And came down the aisle saying Ave Maria, 
And stopped in wonderment there. 






and Other Poems 27 

Two of the three flew away in a scare ; 

But the other one stood his ground, 
And chirped like mad at the godly man, 

With all the breath that he found. 

It must have been his solemn face 

That melted the little one's heart, 
For he took to his wings in sudden fear, 

And flew to a perch like a dart. 

'Twas on the bust of a saint he lit — 

Some martyr of pagan hate — 
And hopped about in a rudely way, 

On the good man's poor bald pate. 

There he spread his wings in ruffled pride, 
And with a last long chirp defied 

The world of sanctity, and vanished in 
The warm luxuriant air outside. 



28 The Poisoned Lake 



A SHOWER. 

JjjJAVE you ever heard the rumble 
■HJ Of the thunder far away? 
It speaks a coming shower 

To ease the heat of day ; 
Then the clouds come drifting over, 

And the world grows dark and gray — 
But first there came the rumble 

Of the thunder far away. 

Have you ever heard the patter 

Of the rain-drops on the road? 
They come in slow succession 

Then faster in their mode ; 
Then the air grows fresh and fragrant, 

As the clouds pour down their load — 
But first there came the patter 

Of the rain-drops on the road. 

Have you ever seen the breaking 
Of the dark and leaden sky? 



and Other Poems 29 

How it filled the world with beauty 

And caused the rain to die ! 
Then the long bright streaks of sunshine 

Came streaming from on high — 
But first there came the breaking 

Of the dark and leaden sky. 

Have you ever seen the rainbow, 

And its many colored parts, 
As it arched the world in glory 

Where the sun threw out its darts ? 
Then the rose-bush by the road-side 

Is hung with rain-drop hearts — 
But they'll all go dropping, dropping 

When that yellow songster starts. 

And so the shower passes, 

And the world in quiet lies, 
With the verdure all reblooming, 

And the deep blue in the skies. 
And so the shower passes, 

And the world in quiet lies, 
With the verdure all reblooming, 

And a deep blue in the skies. 



30 The: Poisoned Lake 



A NIGHT PICTURE. 

JjJOW wild, how wild is the wind to-night 
Wj "In its mad race o'er the earth ; 
How it blows the willow's streaming hair 
Where the brook runs by in mirth ! 

How wild, how wild is the wind to-night, 
See it drive the dark clouds by ; 

How massive they look as changing form 
They pass o'er the silvered sky ! 

In still, in strife, it comes and goes 
Like the life of a human heart : 

The rain must fall as human tears, 
And then will strife depart. 



and Other Poems 31 



FAME. 

3SN'T this a pleasant room : — 
You must not make a sound — 
A lovely rug, a table, 

See the book-shelves all around ? 

Two gentlemen are seated 

Near the lamp in easy-chairs, 
They're both engulfed, with nodded heads, 

In the wilds of authors' lairs. 

Presently one asketh 

In a meditative voice : 
"Did you ever read this writer? 

He's just my style and choice." 

And shortly came the answer : — 

"What, poems by so and so ? 
Oh, yes; he's great — 

Er — a — he died some time ago." 



32 The Poisoned Lake 



THE TRAVELER TELLS. 

^THE low coast stretched its sandy shores, 

w To breast the mighty sea ; 

The moon hung low with a tropical glow, 

And a sick hot heat hung over the lee. 
A group of desolate palm trees stood 

Where the hills in the horizon ran free ; 
Those ancient hills, where through the night 

A lion kept a lone sentry — 
And all that I loved and all that I knew 

Were thousands of miles from me. 



and Other Poems 33 



DOMESTICITY. 



JftifE went walking in the mountains, — 
HB My little love and me — 
And the road led through a valley 
Midst the wildest scenery. 



But my thoughts were not with nature, 
For my love was near to me : — 

And I kissed her, and I kissed her 
'Neath an old elm tree. 



I can hardly say what happened, 
But some freak of fantasy 

Made me turn and curse my action, 
As onwards wandered we. 



It seemed to me, I reasoned, — * 
With all its ecstasy — 

Love but pays to nature : — 
For our life it is the fee. 



34 The Poisoned Lake 

So with toads and snakes and lizards, 
And with everything we see. 

Man's a slave of nature : 

Shall it be the same with me ? 

While thus my thoughts went running, 

My little love ran free, 
Plucking buttercups and daisies 

In merry ecstasy; 

Till perchance she spies me : 

"Oh, so sad," said she, 
A.nd asked to know the reason 

For such despondency. 

So I told her of my reasons, 
Said a wild man I would be, 

And run in yonder forest 
In wild defiancy. 

And quickly came the answer : 
"That's just what we will be, 

'Cause if you should be going 
You surely would want me." 



and Other Poems 35 

But, my little love, I reasoned, 

I think that you can see, 
You never would be able 

To run as fast as me ; 

And should you take a tumble 

Over a fallen tree, 
There'd be no one there to help you 

In such calamity. 

"What ! you'd go on running 

With never a thought for me, 
Without so much as stopping 

To see what happened me ?" 

But can't you see, I asked her, 

What that would have to be : 
Why, that would be commencing 

Our domesticity ! 

"Well, I s'pose it would," she answered, 

And then quite heartily : 
"But I know you'd be a gentleman 

And help and care for me." 



36 The Poisoned Lake 



SPRING— A FRAGMENT. 



A 



ND then came the spring. 

Oh the spring! 
Green, gold, 

And apple blossom incarnate. 
A soft sighing breeze, 
Faint rustling trees ; — 
Oh the spring ! Oh the spring ! 



and Other Poems 37 



® 



A SONG. 
O-DAY, my love, the south wind blows, 



■*" All laden with warmth and treasure. 
Come away, come away to the open fields 
And bask in this glorious weather ! 

My heart's astir with the first touch of spring, 

And I would we were happy together. 

Come away, come away where the brown 

woods breathe 
And the green creeps over the meadow ! 



38 The Poisoned Lake 



TO A PAIR OF SHOES. 

JjfJOW indifferent you are, 
Wp How lifeless, mute, 
As you stand collapsed — in pair — 
In spite of your delicate feminine air. 
I suppose you're trying to compute 
The number of days she'll wear you yet 
Before you're cast aside — 
Ah, forever you would abide ! 

You're lucky, my friends. 

What joy to enfold 

Those delicate ankles in your tops 

Of soft-lined kid. 

And when that little white foot, 

All clothed in black, 

Rests on your soul (as mine) 

What fierce love must impel your dumb heart- 

I fain would play your part. 



and Other Poems 39 



MYSTERY. 



^t( WALKED in the woods one summer's 



31 



night 



And a vision there came in the pale moon-light, 
Treading so softly o'er the jewel-strewn grass : 
Delicate, sensitive, a budding lass. 

She held one hand o'er her silken breast 
And her silvered arms hung close at rest; 
While her head was turned as her breath came 

warm, 
And the cold moon kissed her ivory form. 

I hid me 'neath a moss-grown tree 
And watched this lass as she came toward me ; 
Like music she glides o'er the woodland lawn, 
Half leading, half led by a spotted fawn. 

Now she stays a while at a wild rose bower 
To fondle and scent that tender flower, 



40 Ths Poisoned Laks 

And then for joy she garlands her doe 
And laughs with delight at finding it so. 

But soon her mirth was doomed to fade 
For the lithe fawn heard some sound I made, 
And sudden stood still to scent the air 
Whilst the maid looked round in wonder there. 

Then I knew they could but find me soon 

So I stepped forth boldly in the light of the 

moon, 
Holding the nymph and her fawn at bay 
And spreading stark terror where once was 

play. 

Just for an instant they stand their ground 
Then leaps the wild fawn with bound on bound, 
Scatt'ring those roses of fairest tints 
All bruised and broken in its own foot-prints. 

Now swift as an arrow from savage bow 
Speeds the wild fawn, where none may know, 
Leaving its mistress all trembling with fear 
And soon to be captive of mortal man here 



and Other Poems 41 

"What ho ! my fair maiden," in turning, I cry, 
"Thy fawn has escaped me, but thou must not 

try, 
For I will soon hold thee if thou dost insist, — " 
So saying I grasped the maid by her wrist. 

Down on her knees sinks the maiden in fear, 

Begging me free her by all that is dear ; 

And weeping with bowed head she pleads me 

relent, 
Saying she meant me no evil intent. 

"But who art thou, maiden?" unheeding, I say; 
"And why earnest thou here by woodland 

way? — 
Come cease thy dull weeping and look up at me, 
Then if thou wilt tell me I'll let thee go free!" 

"Oh, sir!" said the maiden; "I bid thee take 

care, 
For I am called Myst'ry, whom man should 

beware, 
And if I should grant thee and look in thy face, 
Why straightway I'd lose me all heavenly 

grace." 



42 The Poisoned Lake 

And so with bowed head she waits my reply, 
Which soon with rude action, thus answered 

i— 

By forcing so cruelly this maid as she lies 
To look, ere she cared to, in my mortal eyes. 

Then boastfully laughing as mortals are wont, 
I tell her to go join her fawn in its haunt, 
Saying I find her as most mortal maids ; 
For little cares mankind when mystery fades. 

"Oh, now that you know me thou seest no 

charm," 
Said the maiden arising to be free of harm ; 
Then cautiously retreating a few steps or so, 
She stops to say scornfully before she will go : 

"Thou think'st thou dost know me — poor fool- 
ish man — 
Still just as much mystery as ever I am, 
For all is but mystery that eyes can behold : — 
Good-bye, fool mortal, be thou less bold !" 



and Other Poems 43 



I CELEBRATE MYSELF. 

AFTER WAl/f WHITMAN. 

3 CELEBRATE myself ! 
I am truly wonderful : — 
I am a microbe on a grain of dust 
That is being blown somewhere through mys- 
tery; 
But I say that I can conquer the forces of na- 
ture, 
For I can build bridges — 
I am truly a wonderful parasite. 

I am a wonderful man amongst men ! 
I go out in nature to write poetry : — 
I look up at the sun and cry — 
Oh glorious sun! 
The sun is larger than I am, 
The sun is a million times larger 
Than the speck of dust I am on; 
Still I compliment the sun — 
Still I say I am a wonderful man. 



44 The Poisoned Lake 

Again I cry, Oh glorious sun ! 

And the sun answers me not. 

The sun is but a small speck of dust, 

A mere nothing amongst all the other suns 

That my eyes can behold. 

And the thousands of suns that I can behold 

Must be as a speck of dust 

To all the suns in existence. 

I laugh with sardonic glee ; 

I toy with my ear. 

I say I am a wonderful man 

And celebrate myself. 

I say I am an American 
And celebrate my birth-right. 
Some one near says he is a Frenchman. 
I laugh at his pride 

And am ready to murder this other little me, 
Thereby celebrating myself as an American. 
I glory in the fact of my birth-right. 
I belong to the most wonderful amongst na- 
tions, 
For I am an American. 
I will do anything to emphasize it : 
I stretch dried skins on a wooden rim 
And pound on my instrument, 



and Other Poems 45 

Which I call a drum. 

I make a great noise. 

I go out and parade at night. 

There beneath the cold stretch of stars, 

I parade in celebration of my birth-right; 

While the little torch that I carry in my hat 

Flickers its small wan blaze in competition 

With the cold cruel constancy of the stars. 

Thus I celebrate myself and my birth-right. 

I am a wonderful man ! 

I say there is a Maker of all things 

And tell of Him one day in seven. 

I endow Him with all the petty virtues I have 

not. 
I hide me from the sun in a little building 
And grow quite eloquent about this Maker. 
I declare in a loud voice 
That He is all good, 
And a woman who sits before me 
With a cancer in her breast 
Half believes what I declare. 
I go on and tell more about my fancied Maker. 
I picture Him just a little better than myself. 
I make Him dwarf Himself to my level. 
I declare what He thinks. 



46 The Poisoned Lake 

I celebrate myself. 

And when I have finished my discourse, 

I go to my home well satisfied. 

And as I pass through the streets homewards, 

My eyes are cast down to the pavement. 

I do not look at the stars. 

Now that I have reached my own little building 

I go up stairs and prepare for bed 

And am soon in deep slumber. 

But outside, the night sleeps not. 

It sleeps not, but reigns silently. 

With the silence of its great black truth. 

With the silence of the stars. 

With the silence of billions of miles of space. 

With the silence of mystery. 

With the silence of death. 

And I do not celebrate myself, 

Because I am asleep 

And therefore as if dead. 



and Other Poems 47 



NOTHING AND SOMETHING. 

*Jf*M only a poet of small repute, — 
HP And of fame am apt to despair — 
But I know the truth of a woman's heart, 
For I've gazed in wonderment there. 

A woman's love is a wonderful thing, 
And should be cherished with care; 

For like a fragile Florentine Vase 
It's apt to be hard to repair. 



48 The Poisoned Lake 



SLEEP. 

NIGHT ! draw thy sable curtains 
O'er the tired stage of day ! 
Moon ! disturb not the hours 
With the light of thy sad countenance ! 
Welcome! thou silent spirit of sleep; 
Speed thee on thy holy rounds, 
Kissing the heavy eye-lids of grief 
Into the cool depths of thy Elysian fields ! 
Fare thee well ! O world of sadness, 
For I too bow before the silken emblem of 
sleep ! 



and Other Poems 49 



AT ANCHOR. 



JjJitE lay and rolled in the trough of the sea 
*W* And the wind in the rigging howled its 

misery. 
The night pressed down on the mighty deep 
And the ship was quiet with the hush of sleep. 



50 The Poisoned Lake 



PARTING IN PORT. 

AD was the world that night, 
Chill blew the winter's wind ; 

Far glowed the harbor's light, 
Dark lay the sea behind. 

Slowly our ship moved on, 
Waiting its pilot guide ; 

Cold broke the moon on high, 
Lighting the waters wide. 

Sad was my heart that night, 
Chilled by a fate unkind ; 

For ere the morning's light, 
Left I my love behind. 

Tearless we parted there, 
Each knew that fate defied ; 

Bravely she bade me go, 
Out in the world so wide. 



and Other Poems 51 

Cast they the ropes away, 
While I on the Tender's side 

Waved me my love good-bye, — ■ 
Wishing I ere had died. 



52 The Poisoned Lake 



TO AN EVERY-DAY WOMAN. 

JLOWN has the spirit,— 
Gone with the day — 
Still stay to mock us, 
Death and the clay. 

Hushed are the heart-beats, — 
Stilled is the strife — 

Peace lingers o'er her, 
So lately of life. 

And so life has 'parted : 
Poor mortal heart, — 

Firm in its striving — 
Came to depart. 

Spirit of nature : 

Mark her we pray — • 

Brave in her striving- 
Best that she may ! 



and Other Poems 53 



1 



LAMENT. 

ARK is the world to me, 

Black with despair ; 
Heart drinks its misery 

Deadened with care. 
The past hurls its curses 

Of passion's lost strife, 
To sicken my soul 

Of all future life. 

Age and the skeleton 

Of memories come, 
Sit down beside me, 

Striking me dumb. 
Dark is the world to me, 

Black with despair ; 
Heart drinks its misery 

Deadened with care. 



54 The Poisoned Lake 



BY A MOUNTAIN BROOK. 

3 SLEPT one night by a mountain brook 
Beneath a cloudless sky, 
And the moon shone down in solemn state 
O'er the high tree tops near by. 

I awoke this night with yearning breast 
At the lull of the midnight hour, 

And the silvered silence seemed so great 
That my heart grew oppressed by its power. 

I lay this night in wonder wrapped 
Till the moon hung low in the sky, 

Leaving the woods in mystic dark— 
With the murmuring brook and I. 



and Other Poems 55 



SEPTEMBER. 

gLEPTEMBER : thou art as a lovely woman 
?r Who hath reached her maturity, 
And loves not with youth's fiery blood, 
But rather with the warmth of fever. 

Thou welcomest me in thy arms 
With such assuring tenderness 
That I note not such signs 
Of age as are about you. 

Ah September, I love thy spirit ! 

In thy embrace there is rest, 

And a quiet tenderness stays with thee ; 

Of thy love there is no questioning. 



56 The Poisoned Lake 



OCTOBER. 

^JjtEHOLD the woodland, in her pride 

13 Of age, and departing year, 

Hath cast aside her robe of green ; 

And hath stolen from the summer's sky, the 
rainbow : 

Bedecking herself, high and low, in color mag- 
nificent ! 



and Other Poems 57 



BY THE RIVER. 



3{t|JHERE the river winds its way, 
W Birds are singing rondolay ; 
All is happy, all is gay, 

Life's worth living when it's May. 



Bees are humming, snakes are sunning, 
Brooks are running thereaway; 

For there's bluest blue above us, 
And there's sunshine all the day. 

Little care have we for morrow, 
Naught can now our joys allay; 

Life's worth living by the river, 
In the merry month of May. 



58 The Poisoned Lake 



ON AN OCEAN LINER. 

*jl WAS weary, I was home-sick, 
<U And the night dragged slowly by : 
While I lay and watched for day-light 
To spread its wings on high. 

But the hours went more slowly, 
As if by Titans held in check, 

So I wrapped me in my great coat 
And stole up on the deck. 

There I sought the lee side shelter 
And leaned against the rail 

Just as the lonely lookout 

Sang his watch-call through the gale. 

All was dark up in the heavens, 

All was dark upon the sea, 
And the sighing of the rigging 

Bore my heart in company. 



r '■ ■ 'ir - - - ■-- - — '-- 



and Other Poems 59 

'Gainst our ship the great sea thundered 

Till she trembled all afear, 
While the sea ran back in darkness — 

Waiting cat-like to appear : 

Then in times of utmost silence, 

While we bent to meet the sea, 
The murmur of the waters 

Sang my heart in sympathy. 

But the howling of the high winds 

Soon broke that magic spell, 
Like a thousand throated demons 

Driven o'er a wat'ry Hell. 

And I stood there all forlornly, 
While the tempest raged on high, 

And the memories of a lifetime 
Like a line of men pressed by : 

Like a line of lifetime convicts, 

Who shuffle past in place, 
And each one turns to show me 

His pallid prison face. 



60 The Poisoned Lake 

Till to free me from this vision, 
I gazed off through the dark, 

Where far out in the blackness 
Glowed a single fiery spark. 

Oh star of hope, — I pondered — 

How I glory in your sight, 
For you mark the distant harbor 

We make by morning's light! 

And then I fell to watching 

This far-off hopeful sign, 
And I wondered had its watchman 

A heart more sad than mine. 

And thus against the railing, 

My lonely watch I keep, 
While our great ship — never quailing- 

Fights its battle with the deep, 

Till — hark! there chimes a signal 
Like hope new-born set free, 

And soon we turn to make our port 
And run before the sea. 



and Other Poems 6i 

Now, as the light grows brighter, 

The first faint streaks of day 
Come trooping o'er the distant shore 

To make the world grow gray. 

And then, in light of morning, 
The gulls sweep down from high 

And o'er our ship go sailing 
With many an anxious cry; 

While 'midst the clouds of heaven, 

The morning sun breaks free 
To throw her grand celestial light 

Upon the darkened sea. 

And soon her conq'ring rays disperse 

The heavens' molten gray, 
For one by one o'er yonder rim 

The dark clouds sail away. 

And now beneath the holy blue, 

The harbor's mouth we make, 
Where quiet sea and nearing land 

Seem but some inland lake. 



62 The Poisoned Lake 

Full many a joyous heart has come 

To hail the nearing shore, 
And o'er our deck the happy throng 

Go laughing back and fore. 

Great loves, high hopes, seem common things 

Beneath this joyous blue, — 
And I know not how it happened me, 

My heart seemed joyous too. 



and Other Poems 63 



INNOMINATUM. 

/GLORIOUS passion unconfined 
*!& Hath made me nature's prey. 
Instinct, temperament — both combined — 
Have left me naught to say. 

Both good and bad are words of men, 

Both words from God — some think and 
say — 

But when His magic thought comes in, 
Emotions are His word and play. 

So the living of life is a passive thing, 

And resistance is our care — 
It's not worth while to fume at nature, 

She hasn't our sense of what's fair. 



64 The Poisoned Lake 



I WONDER WILL YOU LOVE ME. 

3 WONDER will you love me 
In the days yet long to come, 
When time has left its traces 
And life seems all but done. 

I wonder will your heart be mine 

And love be just as true 
Or will some thing of evil come 

To kill the love in you. 

As lovers vow their loved ones 

So oft I've vowed to you, 
Still life changes, hearts grow different, 

And I wonder will yours too. 



and Other Poems 65 



TO A PARASITIC WOMAN. 



/|ft H I know you my fine beauty ; 
Vit/ Oh I know you well enough 
I don't mind it if you hate me — 
You look ugly in a huff. 



Oh I know you my fine beauty, 
And understand your ways: — 

I've seen you drag my fellow man 
In delusion half his days. 

You take the love he gives you, 
And grant him be your slave ; 

Or perhaps you did reward him, 
With that ice-cold kiss you gave. 

Your message is destruction, 
You ravage on the soul ; 

The only love that you can know 
Has one person in its role. 



66 The Poisoned Lake 

Oh I hate your ghastly beauty — 
You walk in every class 

From the dame of high society 
To the simple village lass. 

Oh I loathe you ! Oh I hate you ! 

But I'm glad to say you're scarce, 
Else I hardly would have courage 

To write whate'er I dar'st. 



and Other Poems 6y 



THE RAVEN AND THE SKULL. 

/|ft NCE, at dead of night, 

VP When one can hear 
The howling silence 
Beating on one's brain, 
I lay — tempest tossed — 
With fever's racking pain. 
And, just as I 
Was falling in 
The deep bliss of sleep, 
I opened wide my eyes 
To find the raven and the skull ; — • 
A dull, dead white 
Against the night, 
With Raven perched above. 
There he sits 
And pecks and gnaws — 
Those claws — I thought them fangs — 
They ran in ear-pits, eye-pits — 
Just then I felt the fever's pain 
Shake me in its jaws. 



68 The; Poisoned Laks 

When at last the blur 

Had cleared from my eyes, 

I found him perched erect, 

Croaking in greatest glee 

These strange words to me : 

"Good and bad ! 

False and true ! 

All is one, 

One is all. 

Thou art Him 

And He is thee." 

With fevered might, 

To rid me of his sight, 

I raised myself 

To strike him dead. 

But the skull went back in the night, 

And the last that caught my sight 

Was the sagging, wagging jaw, 

As I heard it say, 

In a scraping, grinding way : 

"Good and bad! 

False and true ! 

All is one, 

One is all, 

Thou art Him 

And He is thee." 



and Other Poems 69 



A MOOD. 

3JJJEARY with pain and earthly woe, 
W Canker of life, blurred vision, 
Blood on dust, heart sunk low ; 
My fate and God's decision. 

Thus burdened at the close of day, 
From the sooty city I shrank away 
And sank myself in the deep cool woods, 
Where nature's magic held its sway. 

Casting myself on a small stream's brink, 
Breast to breast with nature, I began to think. 
Almighty God, Merciless Destiny, 
Mad hand of fate, Gigantic Despot, 
Hast Thou no heart ? 



^nngs of % 3fafmtfr 



^nnga of % 3fttfmtte 



ST was a winter night 
In a city bright 
When a ragged sight 
By window's light 
We see in street below. 

Through alley and street, 
Through the blinding sleet, 
Not stopping to meet 
But with step less fleet, 
We see him go. 

• • • • 

The light is long past, — 
Now he's caught in the blast, 
Now pausing at last — 
Murm'ring: "Seeing fate so cast, 
Be it so." 

73 



74 The Poisoned Lake 

Now turning at length 
With regaining strength, 
As the hand of fate 
He breaks in a gate, 
While murm'ring low : — 

"O ye home of buried bone, 

And of the widows' groaning moan ! 

O old home in nature's lap, 

Where all return at the mystic rap ! 

O ye white-eyed spectre drear 

That dost greet mine entrance here ! 

Tell me truly, with break of day 

Steals my sad soul away ? 

Tell me secret, — ere my sad life slips — 

Plucked from countless speechless lips ! 

Ah ! now I hear your crooning low 

Rising above the wild wind's blow : 

"It is the law— Be it so !" 

Weak with hunger and pain, 

Lurching, he walks again, 

As foot-fall gives on snow-clad ground 

A dull and hollow sound 

To those below. 



and Other Poems 75 

Now through the gloom 
He sees a tomb. 
Look, he tries the door ! 
Locked; he tries once more! 
"Fate— Be it so." 

Weak, he can but fall. 
Now the shelter of the wall, — 
He gropes to find — 
Leaves the mad storm half behind. 
"Fate— Be it so." 

Here, crouching protection from the storm, 
We see his gaunt and haggard form ; 
While he murmurs in half articulate way. 
Hark to what he has to say, 
Hark and know : 

THE MYSTIC HAND. 

There is a hand, — 
A mighty hand, 
The hand of fate, 
The hand of time, — 
That here all elements 
Did combine; 
The hand that rolled, — 



j6 The Poisoned Lake 

Rolled the ball — 

And on it made 

Mountains and seas, 

Plains and all ; 

The hand that from 

Nothing brought 

Mountains of rock, 

And the atom wrought, 

Both matter from thought, 

Part of the master mind; 

The hand that moves 

Indomitable fate, — 

That our weakness proves-— 

By unrelenting laws 

That on humanity gnaws ; 

The hand that from 

The dark it takes 

And you with matter 

From its mind it makes, 

And puts you here 

In the sun's great light 

But for an instant, — 

In proportion right — 

While in that instant — 

O so fleeting — 

The mystic hand is beating 



and Other Poems yj 



Ever again, ever again repeating, 
In the whirling of the ball, 
A funeral march for all. 

O the mystic hand 

That placed you here, — 

That placed her here 

(Both matter from thought) — • 

And life's drama wrote 

That the first men brought : 

The same old drama 

Of ages past 

That for countless hordes 

Of men was cast — ■ 

Reward of life, 

Base instincts shove, 

Better still, 

Divine force of love — 

Thumb and fore-finger close 

To press 

You breast to breast — 

You know the rest. 

While in life's instant, — 

O so fleeting ! — 

The mystic hand is beating 

LOfa 



78 The Poisoned Lake 

Ever again, ever again repeating, 
In the whirling of the ball, 
A funeral march for all. 

What means — 
O what means 
The mind of matter 
As over this world 
We poor specks 
It doth scatter. 
What means — 
O what means 
The mind of matter 
By our second of life? 
Does He but wish 
His power to flatter? 
And if that be so, 
Why, O why 
Did he give me here 
This that men call soul ? 
Soul: 

Is it but some forgotten mind 
Of the workman's left behind? 
Let us hope with intention kind, 
To guide us back to the master mind 
"It is the law— Be it so." 



and Other Poems 79 



law. 

Everything is as it was set : 
Purpose — and power — driven. 
The laws of men 
Are but the laws of God 
Indirectly given; 
The ways of men 
But the way of God ; 
The power of men 
But the power of God ; 
All conform to the dominant nod : 
"Be it so." 

All is 

Law, law, law, 

Conceived set, given. 

Hear the grinding mill of time 

Grinding with the chime 

Of law, law, law! 

Hear we can its presence tell 

By a wild and piercing yell 

Of some animal victim, 

Caught in conflicting wheels of law 

(I wonder if the Creator saw) 



80 The Poisoned Lake 

Such as self-preservation and death. 
Never stopping for mortal woes, 
Onward, onward it goes, 
As the countless horde like me it takes 
And back into nothing makes : 
It is the law — "Be it so." 



The storm is past, 
Heaven's clear at last, 
The moon fills the night 
With silver light. 

A gentle breeze 
Moans in the trees 
And of a sudden stops 
As if not understood. 

Everything still 
Except distant rill, 
Beauty serene 
Reigneth supreme. 

All is well 

As held in the spell 



and Other Poems 8i 

Our wandr'er repeats, 
With wild heart-beats, 
The song here given: 

BEAUTY AND HOPE. 

Beauty, beauty, 

Food of passion, 

Hypocritical smile of God : 

Ah, but might I tear thy heart out 

And read the meaning there written, — • 

Meaning of the God that made thee, 

Meaning of the God that made me, 

Meaning of all ! 

Beauty, beauty, 

All life have I pursued thee, 

All life have I wooed thee ! 

Art thou but purpose of passion? 

No, no, for I have seen thee 

As deep melancholy of the woodland : 

Sad soul of God 

It seems as though 

Thou echoed the soul that made thee, 

And thou art the soul of man 

In grander form. 



82 The Poisoned Lake 

Beauty, beauty, 

Mood of matter, 

Matter from the mind of God : 

In thy melancholy smile 

So heartfelt, loving, 

Lies hope, — 

Hope for we poor mortals, 

Hope for all ! 



A distant bell 
Tolled the midnight hour ; 
Then with exultant lay 
Rang in the Christmas day. 



"Peal forth wild bell, 
Peal forth the story 
Of the Christ you tell : 
The story the Christ gave, 
The story of Mohammed, 
And Plato, mild and grave ; 
The story of hope, — 
The hope of mankind 
For life everlasting. 
This hope, 



and Other Poems 83 

That from our minds did come : 
These minds of matter, — 
Surely we fashioned them not ! 
And the master mind that fashioned 
Did it not make hope." 

Ah, now methinks I hear the mystic rap, 
(My poor matter wants of sap) 
Or is it rib-bone's fall on coffin floor? 
No! 'tis death rapping at the door." 



He stands erect, 
No fear on face can we detect : 
Hollow cheeks and eye-pits sunk, 
Racked with pain and weakness drunk. 



"Death ! I fear thee not ; 
I never cast my earthly lot. 
I am but part of the infinite, 
Part of the infinite mind!" 



Before the law of death doth grasp,-— 



84 The; Poisoned Lake 

Or will God to his bosom clasp? — 
With uplifted hand to infinite sky, 
His soul gives forth a parting cry : 

EMANCIPATION. 

"Out of the infinite, 

Out of the mystery, 

Came I here : 

Conceived 

But not conceiving, 

Lodged with this matter, — 

Part, parcel of the infinite mind. 

Here am I : 

Life, God, son of the father, 

Brought and bound by rule and law 

Of God's medium, nature; 

Bound with this matter. 

What is my offence, 

Great God, ruler of nature? 

Oh to rend the bonds that bind me, 

Cruel, cruel God to so confine me ! 

Oh to free the soul 

And understand the infinite whole ! 

I will! 

I am I: 



and Other Poems 85 



Son of the father, — 

A God in my right — 

I will not creep, crawl and pray. 

The son shall be as the father : 

Thy child has grown with time. 

The son shall—" 



Look, look! 
He reels, 

Instinct, God given instinct: 
He throws himself 
And gains his feet. 
He reels again : 
A second in the hands of law, 
A second in the hands of God. 
Fate, chance ! 

He crashes his head against the wall 
And rolls over dead. 
Law, law, law, 
All is law — 
Be it so. 



Now the sad winds blow 
And drift the snow 



86 The Poisoned Lake 

In a beautiful scroll 
About his clay. 



Thus ends my poem of to-day ; 

Of the end 

Surmise what you may. 

Of him 

I have naught more to say, 

Except, 

He was subject to the law of decay 

It is the law — 

Be it so. 

Again I add this key, 

To the thought and way 

Of God or Gods — 

Who knows? 

Be it so! 






MMi sJ t»(w3 



Wilis 

015 897 664 A 


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